2018 Releases

[bfollowell]

I've read through a lot of this thread earlier, when it was first started, and then looked back occasionally, but I haven't really seen anything lately about the lack of a 2018 publishing schedule.

Does anyone know what has changed or what is going on at S&S that makes this year so much different than previous years? For the past several years, we've had at least one book a month, and we've typically had the titles and publishing dates for the coming year by late fall. Now, here we are, almost a month into the new year and there are only three known Star Trek titles coming from S&S, with another one coming from Titan.

What gives? Anyone heard anything that I've missed?

Thanks.

 

[David cgc]

Does anyone know what has changed or what is going on at S&S that makes this year so much different than previous years?

The short answer is that there was a delay with S&S renewing their license with CBS to make Star Trek novels, so the licensing agreement is either still being renegotiated/approved or is so recently signed that there's nothing ready to announce.

 

[The Wormhole]

Basically the contract was up for renewal, and various roadblocks are standing in the way for contract renewal. Among them, a transition to new leadership at Pocket Books slowing the negotiations at a critical stage, complications related to trying to get Bad Robot to allow Kelvin Timeline novels, and allegedly, someone else is interested in the license and making a play for it. So, in the meantime we are without Trek novels until whenever the contract is signed and writing can begin again.

Although we do have two new Discovery novels and a new Voyager novel coming out through the year, though they fall under the terms of the old contract. Also, Titan Books has the translations of Parts 2 and 3 of the Prometheus trilogy.

 

[Christopher]

and allegedly, someone else is interested in the license and making a play for it.

That's the first I've heard of that allegation.

 

[The Wormhole]

Wasn't there talk earlier in this thread about Titan possibly being interested?

 

[20fridge]

Wasn't there talk earlier in this thread about Titan possibly being interested?

I think that was mostly speculation based on the fact they acquired the rights to the Prometheus novels.

 

[David cgc]

I think that was mostly speculation based on the fact they acquired the rights to the Prometheus novels.

I'm remembering the old Car Talk bit about whether two people who know nothing know more or less than one person who knows nothing. I saw someone else had the same take on the concept more recently, but I can't remember specifically.

 

[David Weller]

I think that was mostly speculation based on the fact they acquired the rights to the Prometheus novels.

That was me speculating based on that I was told that Titan tried last time the contract came up for renewal.

 

[tomswift2002]

I was just on Amazon.ca, considering that we are only in January, this seems early, but Amazonhas the 2019 Ships Of The Line calendar, with artwork up with an August 7, 2018 release date.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/07893...-17&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=star+trek

Plus Amazon.ca has Pre-orders listed for Jan 1, 2020 re-releases of the novelizations Of “Star Trek The Motion Picture”, “Timetrap” and “My Enemy, My Ally” from Titan. And they look like physical reprints.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=41VTHV4JE1L&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=41XDFVB9FML&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=4163MPBVHXL&ref=plSrch

 

[Jinn]

That's certainly interesting.

 

[rahullak]

So are we looking at some months in 2018 potentially not having any novel releases?

 

[David Weller]

The two original novels were reprinted by Titan UK in 80s/90s. They reprinted a lot of the Pocket TOS & TNG novels at this time.

In the U.K. another publisher reprinted the Pocket novelisation of TMP.

 

[Jinn]

So are we looking at some months in 2018 potentially not having any novel releases?

Looks that way.

Is that the new DS9 on the September image on the new calendar?

 

[David Weller]

So are we looking at some months in 2018 potentially not having any novel releases?

What has so far been announced by Pocket for 2018 were all commissioned under the old contract.

If the new contract were signed today (assuming it hasn’t already) it would probably be 2019 before we got anything more from Pocket.

 

[The Wormhole]

Plus Amazon.ca has Pre-orders listed for Jan 1, 2020 re-releases of the novelizations Of “Star Trek The Motion Picture”, “Timetrap” and “My Enemy, My Ally” from Titan. And they look like physical reprints.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=41VTHV4JE1L&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=41XDFVB9FML&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/18528...=star+trek&dpPl=1&dpID=4163MPBVHXL&ref=plSrch

I also note they seem to be from Titan as well. The 2020 date is a bit odd, though that could just be a placeholder until an actual release date presumably sometime this year is nailed down.

 

[tomswift2002]

I also note they seem to be from Titan as well. The 2020 date is a bit odd, though that could just be a placeholder until an actual release date presumably sometime this year is nailed down.

Of course, in a way its a bit odd that they would reprint novels from the 80's. Of course maybe Titan still has rights to those books from years ago.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

That's the first I've heard of that allegation.

At this point, with the contract expired, I wouldn't be surprised if CBS Licensing were talking to other publishers besides S&S about taking on the license. It's not in CBS' interest, both in terms of money and brand visibility, to go a long period of time without Star Trek fiction on the shelf. But other than Titan and possibly Tor, I can't imagine who might be interested.

 

[David cgc]

Is that the new DS9 on the September image on the new calendar?

They're placeholders using pictures from older calendars and covers. That's usually the case for the first solicitation. The cover is from a test shot when DS9II was first made (there's a nearly identical image on Doug Drexler's Facebook page), and the interior spreads are the January image from this year and a draft of the cover of "A Ceremony of Losses." We don't usually see the real images until closer to when the calendar is released in the summer.

 

[JD]

At this point, with the contract expired, I wouldn't be surprised if CBS Licensing were talking to other publishers besides S&S about taking on the license. It's not in CBS' interest, both in terms of money and brand visibility, to go a long period of time without Star Trek fiction on the shelf. But other than Titan and possibly Tor, I can't imagine who might be interested.

I'm not sure about someone else getting the contract, but I you do have a good point about it not being in CBS best interest to go without Trek books for so long. It's probably one of the worst possible times to be without new books, with Discovery now having brought the franchise back to the public's attention for the first time since the first JJ Abrams movie.

 

[ATimson]

But other than Titan and possibly Tor, I can't imagine who might be interested.

Del Rey, if Disney doesn't pitch a fit. (They do still do some non-Star Wars tie-ins - they're the current publisher for the Blizzard novels, for example.)